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NPR News Now

NPR News: 12-02-2025 3PM EST

02 Dec 2025

Transcription

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

0.098 - 14.057 Unknown

Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation, working toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all. On the web at theschmidt.org.

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15.927 - 35.031 Lakshmi Singh

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh. As critics raise the possibility that a war crime might have been committed, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is providing his account of an order he gave the military to strike a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean Sea September 2nd.

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35.372 - 53.862 Pete Hegseth

I watched that first strike live. As you can imagine, the Department of War, we got a lot of things to do. So I didn't stick around for the hour and two hours, whatever, where all the sensitive site exploitation digitally occurs. So I moved on to my next meeting. A couple of hours later, I learned that that commander had made the, which he had the complete authority to do.

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54.663 - 60.413 Pete Hegseth

And by the way, Admiral Bradley made the correct decision to ultimately sink the boat and eliminate the threat.

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61.051 - 75.899 Lakshmi Singh

But Republican and Democratic members of Congress, as well as former military lawyers, are questioning the legality of the follow-up strike that killed survivors still clinging to the boat. The Washington Post first reported the story, resulting in congressional calls for inquiries.

76.6 - 94.806 Lakshmi Singh

The wife of former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez says her husband's been released from prison after President Trump pardoned him. She thanked Trump on X this morning. Hernandez was serving a 45-year sentence in West Virginia for his role in helping drug traffickers move hundreds of tons of cocaine to the U.S.

95.467 - 114.961 Lakshmi Singh

President Trump says he believes Hernandez was wrongfully imprisoned under the Biden administration. The man accused of shooting two National Guard members just blocks from the White House is facing murder, assault, and firearms charges. A 20-year-old died. A 24-year-old was critically wounded. Ramanullah Lakhonwal was charged today in D.C.

Chapter 2: What recent military actions have raised questions about war crimes?

114.981 - 136.35 Lakshmi Singh

Superior Court. He appeared via video link from his hospital bed. He was injured in last week's shooting. Lakhonwal helped the CIA and U.S. forces in Afghanistan. He moved to the U.S. during the Biden administration and was granted asylum by the Trump administration in April. The Justice Department says an Afghan citizen living in Texas is charged with making violent threats on social media.

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136.891 - 141.48 Lakshmi Singh

Authorities arrested the man in the Fort Worth area. More from NPR's Ryan Lucas.

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141.78 - 161.596 Ryan Lucas

Court papers identify the defendant as Mohamed Alokozai. The FBI received a tip from Texas law enforcement about a video making the rounds on TikTok X and Facebook. Court papers say a man seen in the video claimed that he wanted to conduct a suicide attack against the other participants of the video call and that he wanted to build a bomb in his vehicle.

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161.997 - 178.504 Ryan Lucas

The FBI used facial recognition technology to identify the man in the video as Alokozai, leading to his arrest. Court papers say Alokozai later told investigators that he made the statements in the video and he is now charged with transmitting threats. Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington.

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179.159 - 201.994 Lakshmi Singh

U.S. stocks are trading higher this hour, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average now up 219 points, roughly half a percent. At 47,508, the S&P has risen 22 points. You're listening to NPR News. Costco is the latest company to sue the Trump administration over tariffs. NPR's Alina Selyuk reports.

202.195 - 223.068 Alina Selyuk

President Trump's tariffs on nearly all imports are pending at the Supreme Court, where justices last month seemed skeptical about their legality during oral arguments. Lower courts previously found that Trump set new rules by improperly using emergency economic power. And dozens of companies have now filed lawsuits trying to secure tariff refunds in the event that the Supreme Court agrees.

223.548 - 243.017 Alina Selyuk

That includes cosmetics company Revlon, canned foods maker Bumblebee, and now Costco. Costco's filing with the U.S. Court of International Trade does not say how much the retailer has paid in tariffs. But earlier this year, executives said imported goods make up about a third of what Costco sells in the U.S. Alina Selyuk, NPR News.

242.997 - 253.96 Lakshmi Singh

Thousands of truck-driving schools could be forced to close after review by federal regulators. MTR's Jill Rose reports the Transportation Department found many schools may not be complying with government requirements.

253.98 - 265.516 Joel Rose

The Transportation Department says it plans to revoke the accreditation of nearly 3,000 trucking schools unless they can prove they're up to federal standards. The DOT is warning another 4,000 schools that they could face similar action.

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